Cape Charles, VA Fishing Report, August 25: Baby Shark Do do do do do do

 Well, not exactly a baby....

One of the cardinal rules of wade fishing in the salt water is to keep your head on a swivel.  Down at the mouth of Plantation Creek, for example, you'll see a fair number of Rays.  They're easy to avoid, and if they get close you simply slap your rod tip in the water and they swim off.  Turns out that technique works for toothy predators as well.

I decided to break out the fly rod and get in a little casting this morning.  Conditions were excellent.  Temps in the 70s, clear skies, a light breeze, but the water was clear.

I started wading down towards the mouth of the creek, blind casting every once in a while.  The tide had been going our for an hour or so, and I was in thigh-deep water.  As I was making my way down, though, I saw thrashing in the water about 200 yards further down.  

Curt, Joe and I had seen a shark while fishing Secret Beach two weeks ago.  Figuring that there was a shark down there, I slowly made my way back to the breakwater and shallower water.  About 100 feet or so from the breakwater, more thrashing.  Couldn't tell whether it was a big Ray or the shark.  But not far from the breaker I saw what I thought was a school of Reds.  So what do you do in that case?  Well, you start casting of course.

I was standing in shin-deep water, casting to fish, and happened to look to my left, only to see Mr. Shark swimming toward me.  Even in shallow water, I wasn't going to out run it.  But I remembered a fishing video I saw some time ago where an angler slapped his rod tip at the nose of a shark to scare it off.

So that's what I did.  And the technique worked.  The fish got within 5-6 feet of me before it took off.  I hung around for awhile, and saw two wakes pushing water beyond the bar.  So I figured Mr. Shark was with a buddy and still in the area.  So called it a morning.  

In 5 years of wade-fishing this spot, it's the first time I've seen a shark up close.  My suspicion is that they were going after the Rays in the shallows.  A little Google search revealed that Sandbar and Bull Sharks feed on Rays in Virginia waters.  I couldn't tell what species was swimming my way.  Looked like it might have been 4-5 feet long, but I was more focused on scaring the fish off than close observation.

Nature, go figure.

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Cape Charles, VA Fishing Report, 08-10 Aug: The Man in the Brown Suit

 Last year both of our scheduled Cobia outings with Capt. Kenny Louderback (Fish Freaks Sportfishing) got weathered out.  This year our July outing met the same fate.  Fortunately, last Monday's weather was about as good as it gets to hunt the Man in the Brown Suit.

Joining Joe and me was close friend, former squadron mate, and avid saltwater angler Curt Toomer.  Curt has been out on the Cobia outing before, so he knew the deal.  In the mid to late-summer, Cobia spend much of their time near the surface.  Hot and humid is key, as well as clear skies and low winds.  Get those conditions and you have a great chance of spotting and hooking into big fish.  The other key is the guide, which is why we've been fishing with Kenny for 10 years.

Prior to our Monday outing, we spent a few days DIYing it on Plantation Creeks.  We were able to put the boat in the water Sunday afternoon.  But for the most part we fished "Secret Beach," a spot off of of the Bay Creek Preserve trail, which provides access to a deep channel of Plantation Creek.  We fished a variety of soft plastics, but white Berkley Gulp twister tails seemed to pick up the most fish.  I wouldn't call the fishing great, but we managed a few Flounder and Croaker, and Curt landed a small Striper on a Salt Strong white Flea Flicker, which was kind of surprising.

Sunday afternoon the winds calmed so we put the boat in the water.  Fished the cement ships down at Kiptopeake State Park, and around Plantation Creek.  Much like the prior few days, we caught some Croakers, but that was about it.  Did manage two catch a small Trout and Croaker on the same lure, which was kind of cool

All of our fishing, however, was a tune up for Monday's event.  We hopped on Kenny's boat at 0800, and headed west to the main shipping channel.  Kenny noted that the Cobia fishing has been pretty tough, and for the first couple of hours it seemed like that might be the case.  But then, we were out with Fish Freaks.  And periods of boredom can quickly turn into moments of sheer fishing madness.

Which is exactly what happened.  Not seeing any fish, Kenny decided to fish around the channel buoys.  That's when the magic happened, for about 45 minutes we experienced the fun of Cobia fishing.  

As a reminder, the guide (or his mate) cast from the boat tower.  They're either tossing live eels, or bucktails with a soft plastic.  Once a fish is hooked, the rod is handed down to the angler.  Might not seem like all that much, but the fun is in the fight.  I think Kenny and his mate Nick hooked into at least 5 fish, a couple of them monsters.  Two got off before he could get the rods to us, but we managed to land 3; two between 42-43", and one keeper that went 46".

When the action slowed, Kenny moved to a flats area on the eastern side of the bay, where we spotted and landed two more small fish, and lost another monster that wrapped the line around the trim tab and broke off.

It was by far one of our best trips.  And you won't find a more experienced, determined, and persistent Captain than Kenny Louderback.  We were fortunate to have found him for our first outing, and look forward to many more.

Oh, and I should mention that Cobia is exquisite dinner fare. 

Of course, while catching is great, it's more about being on the water with close friends.  Well, and catching....

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Missoula, Montana Fishing Report, Part 2: Fishing in Grizzly Country, Blackfoot River

 You know you're in Grizzly country when your guide is carrying a big can of bear spray, and packing a large-caliber revolver, and yelling "Hey bear!" as you're walking to the stream.

James Quigley guided us on our third outing, which was a walk/wade trip.  The streams shall remain unnamed, per James' request.  Some beautiful freestone water, loaded with big fish.  Much like our drift boat outings, we fished mostly hopper/droppers.  Although I managed a nice Cutthroat on a Trico pattern.  It took awhile to get the fish to eat, but worth the work.

Last outing on the Blackfoot River.  A slow start, but our guide Dylan Tucker did the work and by mid-morning we were into fish, including some nice Rainbows and Cutbows.

   

All in all, a fantastic trip.  There are a lot of places to fish in Montana, but when we return, we'll be fishing with the Grizzly Hackle team!

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing

Missoula, Montana Fishing Report Part 1, 29 July-02 August: Clark Fork and Bitterroot Rivers

 After a year away from PA, Mary and I decided we needed to get in our trout fix.

Montana beckoned....

We booked four days of guided fishing with Grizzly Hackle Fly Shop in Missoula, Mt.  Of our many trips to Montana, which included some exceptional lodges and fishing, this trip was hands down the best (which is saying something).

The fly shop is located right in town.  Even better, it operates apartments located right above the shop.  Not only were the accommodations convenient, but also extremely comfortable and well appointed.  Ours had a full fridge, range, microwave, sink, dishes, glassware, and utensils.  

Missoula is a cool, eclectic town.  Plenty of restaurants, brewpubs, bars, and markets within walking distance of the fly shop.  If you want to save some bucks, the markets offer plenty of options for meals. 

 

The fishing.  Flat-out awesome.  First two outings were drifting the Clark Fork and Bitterroot Rivers.  All of the rivers (we drifted the Blackfoot on our last day) have unique characteristics.  We also did a  walk/wade trip, to get the full Montana experience.  All are phenomenal fisheries. As daytime temps reached into the 90s by mid-afternoon, the state placed "Hoot Owl Restrictions, which prohibited fishing after 2:00 PM.  That meant 6:00 AM meetups with the guides. (Another reason to stay at the apartments above the shop).  

We were on the waters by 6:30-7:00 AM.  The guide fee included rods/reels (5 wts), flies, and lunch).  We didn't bring waders (you can rent those), but I did purchase Korkers wading shoes from the shop for our one day of wading. (with the temps we wet-waded).  But that was it.  Much more convenient than hauling our stuff.

Drift fishing was fairly easy.  We fished hopper/dropper rigs for the most part.  On a few occasions the guide switched to a single hopper or a dry if we saw rising fish.  Fishing the hopper/dropper rig got some getting used to.  Not really from a casting perspective, as we weren't casting more than 10-15 feet from the boat.  The challenge was the set.  Since we were fishing a variety of water depths, the dropper sat about 4-5 feet below the hopper.  That meant when the hopper moved (even slightly), our set was more like a back cast to get the slack out and hook the fish.  

 Our guide, Drew Miller, knew where the fish were.  More importantly, he was an outstanding coach.  We landed some quality fish.  Rainbows, Cutbows, Cutthroats, Whitefish, and Pike Minnow (The name is a misnomer.  While the fish looks like a Walleye, it can get pretty big)

Four quick highlights from Days 1 and 2:  Mary sticking a stud Cutbow, Landing an 18-20" Cuttie on a hopper. (pictured above),  Mary hooking a small trout, which was subsequently eaten by a big Pike (we got the fish close enough to the boat to see it before it turned and broke off on 4X), hooking two Pike, one taking me under the boat before spitting the streamer, and the other cutting the leader).

Tight Lines,

Mikey D Fishing